Women's Volleyball

Scarlet Knight Comeback Sinks SHU 3-2 In Final Game of Baden Classic

Aug 28, 2010

The women's volleyball team took a 2-0 lead but eventually fell
3-2 to Rutgers Saturday night at the Long Beach State Baden
Classic. Ashlyn Trimble
(Temecula, CA) posted a team high 16 kills while junior
Maile
Hetherington (Thousand Oaks, CA) added 15 kills of her
own. The Pioneers finish action at the Long Beach State Baden
Classic without a win but posted strong performances against top
tier competition.

Sacred Heart (0-3) got a strong outing from sophomore Megan Pulone
(Diamond Bar, CA) in her first collegiate start. The 5-8
setter posted 11 assists in the Pioneers 25-23 opening set win
against the Scarlet Knights and 45 total assists in the
match. SHU played from in front most of the game
but were not able to pull away in a tight contest. A kill
from Hethertington gave SHU a game point at 24-22. The
Scarlet Knights took the next point and called timeout. The
Pioneers came out of the break and ended the set immediately on an
Trimble kill.

Rutgers (1-2) traded points with the Pioneers throughout the
start of the second game until Elise Sage
(Greenwood Village, CO) dropped in an ace to make it 17-15,
SHU. But the Scarlet Knight's responded to the ace running
off four consecutive points and forcing Sacred Heart head coach Rob
Machan to call a time out. The Pioneers answered back with
four straight kills and retook the lead at 21-19. Rutgers was
able to save one set point at 24-23 on a kill from Kylie Orr.
But a Scarlet Knight error on the next play would give the Pioneers
another chance. SHU finished the game on a kill from Sage to
earn the 26-24 victory and push ahead 2-0 overall. Pulone
finished the set with 12 assists and two kills while the Pioneers
finished the game with a .245 hitting percentage.

SHU jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the third game but
Rutgers came roaring back and took an 11-8 advantage. The
Pioneers again responded to knot the game at 11-11, this time with
back-to-back kills from Hetherington and Trimble followed by a
block from Johanna Ovsenek
(London, Ontario) and Hetherington. Shortly later, the
Scarlet Knights won four straight points and gained a 19-17 edge,
forcing Machan to use a timeout. SHU again came storming out
of the break for three consecutive points and retook the
lead. But Rutgers would have the last streak of the game and
came out on top 25-22 to bring the match to 2-1, SHU.

The Pioneers struggled at the start of the fourth game as they
fell behind 10-5, picking up all of their points on Scarlet Knight
miscues. Sacred Heart kicked it into high gear at the 14-8
mark and exploded for 10 straight points. The run included
two service aces from Jessica Colberg
(Long Beach, CA) and a pair of blocks from the SHU defense.
Rutgers challenged the Pioneers late and tied the game at 21-21 on
a kill from Alex Jones. Three straight Scarlet Knight kills
and a service ace would end the set 25-22 and force a fifth and
deciding game.

A quick Rutgers surge of five straight points put the Scarlet
Knights up 8-4 in the fifth set. The Pioneers got to within
two at 10-8 after another Trimble kill but SHU would be unable to
completely close the gap. The Scarlet Knights put the match
away 15-10 in the fifth game with a kill from Hannah Curtis coupled
with a Pioneer attacking error.

The women's volleyball team returns to Fairfield, CT next
weekend as they host the Sacred Heart Invitational. The two
day tournament includes host SHU along with Jacksonville,
Binghamton, Lehigh, and Dartmouth.